Mental Health Research

Andrew Turner's years in the military left him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, back pain and the effects of an injury that mangled his hand. "I was a broken toy," he said. Tossed aside. Barely able to get off the couch.

Then he started using an herbal supplement that he says saved his life: kratom.

Nancy Knoebel's 27-year-old son began using kratom after he stopped taking medication to treat his heroin addiction. But he was having withdrawal symptoms, so he turned to an herbal remedy. Within a few months, Knoebel's son was dead from what a medical examiner determined were the "toxic effects" of kratom.

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